Sunlight streamed through the luxurious, silky-looking curtains as Nicholas lay there in his large bed. The soft fabric felt nice against his skin, which would make anyone feel comfortable and fall asleep easily. However, sleep was a stranger to Nicholas this early in the morning.

  Nicholas' eyes were wide open, with his hands resting behind his head, as he stared up at the ceiling. If there were a competition for overthinking, Nicholas would think he was in first place. His mind wandered, traveling faster than a speeding horse, as he wondered what was going to happen to him in the near future. He remembered he felt relieved, knowing his father and brother weren't at the palace, so he thought he would at least have a few peaceful days to himself. But sometimes things didn't happen the way he wanted them to.

  With his father now back at the palace, Nicholas wondered what his father had in store for him. He was sure that his father would seize this opportunity to teach him a lesson or two in royal etiquette, politics, or some other matter. After all, Nicholas remembered being flooded with different classes that his father wanted him to attend. He learned how to act appropriately in regard to his status and position, as well as about the other kingdoms, their political structures, and general knowledge courses, all before he was even eleven. If he had to compare it to anything, it was like a water mage pelting him with an intense beam of water to the face, while he just stood there and took it. All in all, Nicholas was not looking forward to these next few days.

  But there was a silver lining to all of this. Nicholas' lips curled as his thoughts drifted to Elianna. His face became warm as he remembered their conversation yesterday, and he could just picture her on that overlook. The way the sun shone upon her, making her silvery-white hair glow, and her celestial blue beautiful eyes shimmer, it was a view that he had seared into his memory. But, while that view made his stomach flutter, that wasn't why he was smiling.

  Elianna had noticed his attitude the previous day and tried to cheer him up. She said that they would spend as much time together as possible, exploring Zasaly, and having a great time. He chuckled, remembering how she had said she would even find a way to try to sneak him away if his father made him attend any classes while he was there.

  Thinking of Elianna, Nicholas' eyes shifted toward his curtains, thinking he should start getting up, or else he would be late. They had both agreed to meet at six thirty in the morning in her room, so that they could get some physical exercise in together. Nicholas had told her they would work out in the courtyard, and that he would meet her in her room. And, looking at the clock on his nightstand, seeing that it was already ten minutes past six, Nicholas knew he didn't have much time.

  Pushing the bed sheets off him, Nicholas jumped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He quickly brushed his teeth and finger-combed his hair before walking to one of his dressers. Opening one of the drawers, he pulled out his exercise gear that he had put away yesterday, and quickly got dressed.

  Once he had put on his socks and shoes, he made his way to his door, as he was ready. Nicholas opened the door and stepped into the hallway, noticing four guards standing outside his room. They all snapped to attention when they noticed him.

  "Good morning, Your Highness," They all said in unison.

  Nicholas' eyes darted around the guards, noticing they were different from the ones that were standing guard when he had gone to bed. He concluded that they must've switched shifts when he went to bed.

  Nicholas nodded, "Good morning."

  Nicholas walked down the hall, greeting the two guards standing in front of Elianna's doors, before he knocked on the door. Hearing a quick series of footsteps, Nicholas waited eagerly and finally smiled when the door opened. But a moment later, his smile turned into a humorous grin.

  He looked at Elianna, noticing that her hair was a mess, with strands covering her face. She was dressed in her usual workout attire, which consisted of her tank crop top and exercise shorts, which Nicholas thought hugged her hourglass figure nicely.

  Elianna shot Nicholas a quick smile, "Sorry, I'm running a little late."

  Nicholas tilted his head to the side. "Actually, I think I'm a few minutes early."

  Elianna turned, looking toward the clock on the nightstand, "Only by five minutes." She looked back at him and stepped to the side, holding the door open. "Come in, I'm almost ready," She said.

  Nicholas nodded and walked into her room, looking around. His eyes fell on her bed, seeing the sheets pushed down. But his gaze narrowed as he noticed something was missing.

  Closing the door behind her, Elianna walked toward her vanity. "I'm just gonna do my hair really quick, then all I need to do is put some shoes on." Elianna made it to the bathroom door, but stopped when Nicholas didn't answer. She turned and looked at him, noting he was staring at her bed. She tilted her head slightly, "Nick?"

  "There's something missing," Nicholas said, sounding deep in thought. He grabbed his chin, staring at the bed.

  Elianna raised a brow, "Missing?"

  Nicholas nodded slowly. Then, his eyes widened when it clicked. "Oh, your teddy bear!" Nicholas looked at Elianna, "You're missing your teddy bear."

  Elianna's eyes widened, looking surprised. Then she huffed and grumbled, "I know. I knew I was going to forget something." She turned toward her vanity, but froze a second later. She turned around quickly, her horrified gaze landing on Nicholas. "Wait?! You noticed my teddy bear?!"

  Nicholas looked confused, "Uh, yeah? Kinda hard not to notice it when you have it lying against your pillows."

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Elianna stared at Nicholas, with a rosy tint slowly forming on her cheeks. She quickly crossed her arms and looked to the side. "It's perfectly normal for a person my age to want to cuddle with a teddy bear while she sleeps."

  Nicholas smiled at her defensive tone, "I never said it wasn't."

  Elianna looked at Nicholas out of the corner of her eyes and nodded, "Good. I'm glad we got that settled." She cleared her throat before turning around and grabbing her brush and hair tie.

  Nicholas chuckled slightly as he watched her brush her hair back and tie it into a ponytail. He blushed slightly, as he always loved it when she had her hair like this. He couldn't remember when or why she started wearing her hair in a ponytail all the time, but he definitely wasn't going to complain.

  Once her hair was done, Elianna walked over to her closet and shot Nicholas a quick glance. "So, you said we're going to be going out into the courtyard?"

  Nicholas nodded, watching as she walked into the closet, "Yeah."

  "Will we have enough space to run around there?" Elianna called out from the closet.

  Nicholas laughed a little, "Oh, yeah. Trust me, there will be enough space."

  "Why do you say it like that?"

  Nicholas smirked, "You'll see."

  "Surprises, huh? I do like surprises."

  Nicholas smiled softly, "I know."

  Elianna walked out of the closet and smiled, "Alright, I'm ready."

  Nicholas did a quick once-over of Elianna, trying to hide his blush at her perfect amount of exposed skin. He quickly turned toward the door and cleared his throat. "Cool. Follow me."

  Elianna smirked, as Nicholas wasn't as slick as he thought, since she noticed his blush. She followed Nicholas out of her room, noticing the guards in the hallway. She looked between the two guards outside her door, noticing they were different.

  "We're going to head to the first floor," Nicholas said as he began to walk down the hallway.

  Elianna looked at Nicholas curiously as she and the guards followed him, "Isn't the grand staircase the other way?"

  "Yeah," Nicholas nodded, and smiled at her. "But, it would be faster to take the tower stairs."

  Elianna nodded, followed Nicholas down the hallway, and watched as he walked toward a door in the corner. She noticed there were two more guards standing by this door, and they snapped to attention as they approached.

  "Good morning, Your Highness," They both said.

  "Good morning," Nicholas replied as he approached the door.

  Elianna watched as Nicholas pushed open the door, stepped inside, and made room for her as he held the door open. Elianna followed Nicholas, seeing how she entered a square-shaped area, which had a staircase that both ascended and descended.

  Looking up, Elianna asked curiously, "Does this lead to another tower overlook?"

  Nicholas nodded, "Yeah. All the towers have an overlook." He let go of the door and began to walk towards the descending stairs. "I can show you later if you want."

  Elianna smiled, "Sure, I'd like that."

  Elianna followed Nicholas down the square spiral staircase, with their footsteps and the guards' footsteps echoing throughout the tower. There were windows built along the tower at each floor, and lumous stones set along the stairway, illuminating the tower, giving Elianna and Nicholas enough light so they could see where they were stepping. Once they finally reached the bottom, Nicholas opened the door, and the cool, salty morning air greeted them.

  Elianna followed Nicholas outside, noticing that they had entered an incredibly large, open breezeway made of gray stone. Looking around, Elianna observed that on her right was a large gray stone wall, where several guards could be seen walking along the top. To her left was a massive grassy field, with another breezeway on the other side, with a gray stone wall with more guards behind it.

  Nicholas walked to the left onto the grassy field, and Elianna followed him, looking around in amazement. Twirling around, she noticed they were standing at the base of the beautiful gray stone palace. She noticed how the breezeways were connected to the outer towers of the palace, and seemed to run down the courtyard, to other small buildings on the other side.

  Looking at the courtyard itself, she observed how the majority of it was an open grassy plain. However, closer to the palace was a large pond area beautifully decorated with stone pathways. A small bridge over the pond was adorned with various trees, bushes, and flowers.

  "Wow," Elianna said in amazement as she looked around. "You weren't kidding. There really is more than enough room."

  Nicholas chuckled, "Told you." His eyes swept over the open field, and his lips curled slightly. "I used to hang out here too in my free time."

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, "Doing what?"

  Nicholas shrugged, "Sometimes I would just hang out." His smile grew, "Or, one of the palace staff would be out here, playing with me."

  Elianna tilted her head curiously, "Did your father ever come out here and play with you?"

  Nicholas shook his head, "No. He was always busy."

  Elianna looked at Nicholas for a moment before she asked, "What about your brother?"

  Nicholas' eyes fell, and his jaw tightened. "No. We... didn't really do much of anything together growing up." He shrugged, "Except maybe attend classes together."

  "Hey, Nick," Elianna said softly, and Nicholas looked at her curiously. "I know you said you and your brother don't get along. But, you never really told me why."

  Nicholas' eyes fell, and his brows furrowed. He was silent for a few moments while Elianna looked at him with a softened expression.

  Elianna watched Nicholas, watching as his face contorted into a series of different emotions.

  "He... he blames me," Nicholas said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  Elianna looked confused and softly asked, "For what?"

  Nicholas looked at Elianna, seeing a mixture of emotions in his eyes. Then, his gaze flicked to the side, and he raised his head. "The pond is nice."

  Elianna sighed, noting the immediate and non-subtle subject change. She smiled softly and followed his gaze, "Yeah. Did you ever paint it?"

  Nicholas smiled and nodded, "Yeah. It was actually one of the first things I painted." He chuckled, "You know, besides finger painting."

  Elianna nodded, looking at the pond as a silence fell over them. But her head snapped to the side at the sound of a distant explosion. Her eyes fell on the buildings in the distance, and she could see a group of individuals forming together. Hearing another explosion, her brows furrowed, "What's going on over there?"

  Nicholas looked at Elianna before following her gaze. "That's the royal guard unit headquarters and barracks."

  Elianna tilted her head slightly, staring at the group of people, "Just the royal guard? Where are the rest of the soldiers?"

  Nicholas looked at Elianna, "You mean the garrison?"

  Elianna nodded, not taking her eyes off the group, "Yeah."

  "The garrison is in another part of the city, not far from here. The royal guard unit is stationed at the palace to protect the royal family." Nicholas gestured to the breezeways, "The breezeways connect the royal guard unit buildings to the palace."

  Elianna nodded, hearing another explosion as she watched the group, "What do you think they're doing?"

  Nicholas shrugged, "I'm not sure." He turned, looking at the guards behind him. His eyes fell on one of the guards, who had a single golden disk on his collar. "Do you know, Corporal?"

  The corporal snapped to attention, "They're training, Your Highness. Captain Dunfort is having the unit run a gauntlet."

  Nicholas nodded and looked at Elianna. "Well, there's our answer." He smiled, seeing the gleam in her eyes, "Did you want to go see them training?"

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, smiled, and nodded, "Yeah. It'd be interesting to see their fighting styles versus the soldiers at Tri-Union City."

  Nicholas looked at the royal guard unit before smiling at Elianna, "Then, let's go see them fight."